This clay cylinder is inscribed in
Akkadian cuneiform script with an account made by the famous king Cyrus of Persia (559-530 BC).
The Cyrus Cylinder records his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and the capture of Nabonidus, the last
of the Babylonian kings.

The
Cyrus Cylinder is an important discovery in the study of Biblical
Archaeology because it speaks of Cyrus the Persian and his conquest of
Babylon in 539 BC. as mentioned in Scripture.

Cyrus II, the Great was the founder and ruler of the vast Persian Empire from 539 B.C. until his death in 530 B.C. Once Cyrus had defeated the Median king, Astyages and took Ecbatana he expanded his kingdom defeating Croesus, king of Lydia in 546 BC, and then conquered Babylon in 539
BC overthrowing Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. The Persian Empire was formed.
Cyrus was a generous ruler allowing various captives to return to their homelands, as recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder. Xenophon, Nabonidus and many others gave Cyrus praise for his generous leadership.

Judea had remained a Persian province for the next two hundred years until the time that the Bible records "the decree of Cyrus" giving permission to the Hebrew captives to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple.

Cyrus also restored the vessels of the House of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar
II had taken to Babylon, and provided the funds to bring cedar trees from Lebanon.

"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!" - 2 Chronicles 36:22-23

"Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." ' - Isaiah 44:28

"King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods; and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem." - Ezra 1:7-11

This clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus,
king of Persia (559-530 BC) of his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and capture of
Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king.

Cyrus claims to have achieved this with the aid of Marduk, the god of Babylon. He
then describes measures of relief he brought to the inhabitants of the city, and
tells how he returned a number of images of gods, which Nabonidus had collected in
Babylon, to their proper temples throughout Mesopotamia and western Iran. At the
same time he arranged for the restoration of these temples, and organized the
return to their homelands of a number of people who had been held in Babylonia by
the Babylonian kings. Although the Jews are not mentioned in this document, their
return to Palestine following their deportation by Nebuchadnezzar II, was part of
this policy.

This cylinder has sometimes been described as the 'first charter of human rights',
but it in fact reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the
third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms.

Cyrus Cylinder Inscription translation:

[. . .] his troops [. . .four] quarters of the world [.
. .] a weakling was established as ruler over his land and [. . .] a similar
one he appointed over them, like Esagila he made [. . .] to Ur and the rest
of the cities, a command dishonoring them [. . .] he planned daily and in
enmity, he caused the daily offering to cease; he appointed [. . .] he
established within the city. The worship of Marduk, king of the gods [. . .]
he showed hostility toward his city daily [. . .] his people; he brought all
of them to ruin through servitude without rest.

On account of their complaints, the lords of the gods
became furiously angry and left their land; the gods, who dwelt among them,
left their homes, in anger over his bringing into Babylon. Marduk [. . .] to
all the dwelling places, which had become ruins, and the people of Sumer and
Akkad, who were like corpses [. . . .] he turned and granted mercy. In all
lands everywhere he searched; he looked through them and sought a righteous
prince after his own heart, whom he took by the hand. He called Cyrus, king
of Anshan, by name; he appointed him to lordship over the whole world.

The land of Qutu, all the Umman-manda, he cast down at
his feet. The black-headed people, whom he gave his hands to conquer, he
took them in justice and righteousness. Marduk, the great lord, looked
joyously on the caring for his people, on his pious works and his righteous
heart.

To his city, Babylon, he caused him to go; he made him
take the road to Babylon, going as a friend and companion at his side. His
numerous troops, in unknown numbers, like the waters of a river, marched
armed at his side. Without battle and conflict, he permitted him to enter
Babylon. He spared his city, Babylon, a calamity.

Nabonidus, the king, who did not fear him, he delivered
into his hand. All the people of Babylon, Sumer, and Akkad, princes and
governors, fell down before him and kissed his feet. They rejoiced in his
sovereignty; their faces shone.

The lord, who by his power brings the dead to life, who
amid destruction and injury had protected them, they joyously blessed him,
honoring his name.

I am Cyrus, king of the world, the great king, the
powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four
quarters of the world, son of Cambyses, the great king, king of the city of
Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, king of the city of Anshan;
great-grandson of Teispes, the great king, king of the city of Anshan;
eternal seed of royalty whose rule Bel and Nabu love, in whose
administration they rejoice in their heart. When I made my triumphal
entrance into Babylon, I took up my lordly residence in the royal palace
with joy and rejoicing; Marduk, the great lord, moved the noble heart of the
residents of Babylon to me, while I gave daily attention to his worship.

My numerous troops marched peacefully into Babylon. In
all Sumer and Akkad I permitted no enemy to enter. The needs of Babylon and
of all its cities I gladly attended to. The people of Babylon [and . . .],
and the shameful yoke was removed from them. Their dwellings, which had
fallen, I restored. I cleared out their ruins. Marduk, the great lord,
rejoiced in my pious deeds, and graciously blessed me, Cyrus, the king who
worships him, and Cambyses, my own son, and all my troops, while we, before
him, joyously praised his exalted godhead. All the kings dwelling in
palaces, of all the quarters of the earth, from the Upper to the Lower sea
dwelling [. . .] all the kings of the Westland dwelling in tents brought me
their heavy tribute, and in Babylon kissed my feet.

From [. . .] to Asshur and Susa, Agade, Eshnunak,
Zamban, Meturnu, Deri, with the territory of the land of Qutu, the cities on
the other side of the Tigris, whose sites were of ancient foundation - the
gods, who resided in them, I brought back to their places, and caused them
to dwell in a residence for all time, And the gods of Sumer and Akkad?whom
Nabonidus, to the anger of the lord of the gods, had brought into Babylon?by
the command of Marduk, the great lord, I caused them to take up their
dwelling in residences that gladdened the heart. May all the gods, whom I
brought into their cities, pray daily before B?l and Nab? for long life for
me, and may they speak a gracious word for me and say to Marduk, my lord,
"May Cyrus, the king who worships you, and Cambyses, his son, their [. . .]
I permitted all to dwell in peace [. . .]

Translated by
R. W. Rogers [1912]

Cyrus I in Wikipedia(Old Persian
Kuru?), was King of Anshan in Persia from c. 600 to 580 BC or,
according to others, from c. 652 to 600 BC. He should not be
confused with his famous grandson Cyrus the Great, also known as
Cyrus II. His name in Modern Persian is کوروش, while in Greek he was
called Κύρος. Cyrus was an early member of the Achaemenid dynasty.
He was apparently a grandson of its founder Achaemenes and son of
Teispes, king of Anshan. Teispes' sons reportedly divided the
kingdom among them after his death. Cyrus reigned as king of Anshan
while his brother Ariaramnes was king of Parsa. The chronological
placement of this event is uncertain. This is due to his suggested
but still debated identification with the monarch known as "Kuras of
Parsumas". Kuras is first mentioned c. 652 BC. At that year Shamash-shum-ukin,
king of Babylon (668 - 648 BC) revolted against his older brother
and overlord Ashurbanipal, of king of Assyria (668 - 627 BC). Cyrus
is mentioned being in a military alliance with the former. The war
between the two brothers ended in 648 BC with the defeat and
reported suicide of Shamash-shum- ukin. Cyrus is mentioned again in
639 BC. At that year Ashurbanibal managed to defeat Elam and became
overlord to several of its former allies. Kuras was apparently among
them. His elder son "Arukku" was reportedly sent to Assyria to pay
tribute to its King. Kuras then seems to vanish from historical
record. His suggested identification with Cyrus would help connect
the Achaemenid dynasty to the major events of the 7th century BC...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_I

Cyrus in Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. Ko'resh), the celebrated "King of Persia" (Elam) who was
conqueror of Babylon, and issued the decree of liberation to the
Jews (Ezra 1:1, 2). He was the son of Cambyses, the prince of
Persia, and was born about B.C. 599. In the year B.C. 559 he became
king of Persia, the kingdom of Media being added to it partly by
conquest. Cyrus was a great military leader, bent on universal
conquest. Babylon fell before his army (B.C. 538) on the night of
Belshazzar's feast (Dan. 5:30), and then the ancient dominion of
Assyria was also added to his empire (cf., "Go up, O Elam",
Isa.21:2). Hitherto the great kings of the earth had only oppressed
the Jews. Cyrus was to them as a "shepherd" (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). God
employed him in doing service to his ancient people. He may posibly
have gained, through contact with the Jews, some knowledge of their
religion. The "first year of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:1) is not the year of
his elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor
the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two
years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon after
its fall. At this time only (B.C. 536) Cyrus became actual king over
Israel, which became a part of his Babylonian empire. The edict of
Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem marked a great epoch in the
history of the Jewish people (2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4; 4:3;
5:13-17; 6:3-5). This decree was discovered "at Achmetha [R.V.
marg., "Ecbatana"], in the palace that is in the province of the
Medes" (Ezra 6:2). A chronicle drawn up just after the conquest of
Babylonia by Cyrus, gives the history of the reign of Nabonidus (Nabunahid),
the last king of Babylon, and of the fall of the Babylonian empire.
In B.C. 538 there was a revolt in Southern Babylonia, while the army
of Cyrus entered the country from the north. In June the Babylonian
army was completely defeated at Opis, and immediately afterwards
Sippara opened its gates to the conqueror. Gobryas (Ugbaru), the
governor of Kurdistan, was then sent to Babylon, which surrendered
"without fighting," and the daily services in the temples continued
without a break. In October, Cyrus himself arrived, and proclaimed a
general amnesty, which was communicated by Gobryas to "all the
province of Babylon," of which he had been made governor. Meanwhile,
Nabonidus, who had concealed himself, was captured, but treated
honourably; and when his wife died, Cambyses, the son of Cyrus,
conducted the funeral. Cyrus now assumed the title of "king of
Babylon," claimed to be the descendant of the ancient kings, and
made rich offerings to the temples. At the same time he allowed the
foreign populations who had been deported to Babylonia to return to
their old homes, carrying with them the images of their gods. Among
these populations were the Jews, who, as they had no images, took
with them the sacred vessels of the temple.
http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/C/Cyrus/

Cyrus in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Koresh, from the Persian kohr "the sun," as Pharaoh from phrah "the
sun." Founder of the Persian empire. Represented as the son of
Mandane, who was daughter of Astyages last king of Media, and
married to Cambyses a Persian of the family of the Achaemenidae.
Astyages, because of a dream, directed Harpagus his favorite to have
the child Cyrus destroyed; but the herdsman to whom he was given
preserved him. His kingly qualities, when he grew up, betrayed his
birth. Astyages enraged served up at a feast to Harpagus the flesh
of his own son. Harpagus in revenge helped Cyrus at Pasargadae near
Persepolis, 559 B.C., to defeat and dethrone Astyages, and make
himself king of both Medes and Persians. Afterward Cyrus conquered
Croesus, and added Lydia to his empire. In 538 B.C. he took Babylon
by diverting the course of the Euphrates into another channel, and
entering the city by the dry bed during a feast at which the
Babylonians were reveling, as Isaiah 21:44;Isaiah 21:27; Jeremiah
50:38; Jeremiah 51:57 foretell He finally fell in a battle against
the Massagetae. (See BABYLON.)...
http://www.bible-history.com/faussets/C/Cyrus/

Cyrus in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(the sun), the founder of the Persian empire --see 2Ch 36:22,23; Da
6:28; 10:1,13 --was, according to the common legend, the son of
Cambyses, a Persian of the royal family of the Achaemenidae. When he
grew up to manhood his courage and genius placed him at the head of
the Persians. His conquests were numerous and brilliant. He defeated
and captured the Median king B.C. 559. In B.V. 546 (?) he defeated
Croesus, and the kingdom of lydia was the prize of his success.
Babylon fell before his army, and the ancient dominions of Assyria
were added to his empire B.C. 538. The prophet Daniel's home for a
time was at his court. Da 6:28 The edict of Cyrus for the rebuilding
of the temple, 2Ch 36:22,23; Ezr 1:1-4; 3:7; 4:3; 5:13,17; 6:3 was
in fact the beginning of Judaism; and the great changes by which the
nation was transformed into a church are clearly marked. His tomb is
still shown at Pasargadae, the scene of his first decisive victory.
http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/C/Cyrus/

Cyrus in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
1. Genealogy of Cyrus: The son of the earlier Cambyses, of the royal
race of the Achemenians. His genealogy, as given by himself, is as
follows: "I am Cyrus, king of the host, the great king, the mighty
king, king of Tindir (Babylon), king of the land of Sumeru and
Akkadu, king of the four regions, son of Cambyses, the great king,
king of the city Ansan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, king of
the city Ansan, great-grandson of Sispis (Teispes), the great king,
king of the city Ansan, the all- enduring royal seed whose
sovereignty Bel and Nebo love," etc. (WAI, V, plural 35, 20-22).
http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/C/CYRUS/

Cyrus [the brilliancy of the suri], a prince, conqueror
and statesman of great renown, and an instrument chosen by Jehovah
to execute his purposes of
mercy toward the Jews (Isa. 44 : 28 ; 45 : 1 ; Dan. 6 : 28). The
early life of Cyrus is involved in obscurity. According to the
common legend, he was the
son of Mandane, the daughter of Astyages, the last king of Media,
and Cambyses, a Persian of the royal family of Achaemenidae. In
consequence of a dream,
Astyages, it is said, designed the death of Cyrene. his infant
grandson, but the child was spared by those whom he charged with the
commission of the
crime, and was reared in obscurity under the name of Agradates. When
he grew up to manhood his courage and genius placed him at the head
of the Persians.
The tyranny of Astyages had, at that time, alienated a large faction
of the Medes, and Cyrus headed a revolt which ended in the defeat
and capture of the
Median king, B. c. 559. After consolidating the enqire which he had
thus gained, Cyrus entered on that career of conquest which has made
him the hero of
the East. His conquests extended over all Western Asia, but the most
brilliant of them was that of Babylon, B.C. 538. After the reduction
of Babylon he
ordered a return to their own land of the Jews, who had been seventy
years in captivity, and furnished them very liberally with the means
of rebuilding
their temple (Ezra 1 : 1-4). Hitherto, the great kings with whom the
Jews had been brought into contact had been open oppressors or
seductive allies, but
Cyrus was a generous liberator and a just guardian of their rights.
He fell in battle B. c. 529, and his tomb is still shown at
Pasargadae, the scene of
his victory over Astyages. [Westminster Bible Dictionary]

Persia, the great empire founded by Cyrus, whicli at the
period of its greatest prosperity comprehended all the Asiatic
countries from the Mediterranean
to the Indus, and from the Black and Caspian seas to Arabia and the
Indian Ocean. It was divided into several provinces. The Medes and
Persians are
generally mentioned in Scripture in conjunction, and most probably
were kindred branches of that great Aryan family, which under
different names ruled the
A-ast region between Mesopotamia and what is now known as Burmah. In
the time of Cyrus (b. c. 558) the Persian empire held sway over both
Media and
Persia. The most interesting circumstance to the biblical student
connected with this empire and its royal master was the permission
granted by Cyrus to
the captive Jews to return to their own land (2 Chron. 36 : 22, 23;
Ezra 6:3-5; Isa. 44 : 28). He was the special instrument also in the
hand of the
Almighty in fulfilling the threatenings against Babylon (Isa. 45 :
1-4; 46 : 1, 2; 47 : 1-15 ; Jer. chs. 50, and 51). The Persian
monarch who permitted
the Jews to rebuild their temple was Darius Hystaspes (Ezra 6 :
1-15). Upon his death (b. c. 485) Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of Esther
and Mordecai and the
defeated invader of Greece, ascended the throne. After a reign of
twenty years Xerxes was assassinated by Artabanus, who, reigning but
seven pionths, was
succeeded by Artaxerxes Longimanus, the king wlio stood in such
friendly relations toward Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 7 : 11-28; Neh. 2
: 1-9). This is the
last of the Persian kings who had any special connection with the
Jews. The empire was finally overthrown by Alexander the Great. In
later ages the name
and power of Persia revived, and at the present time the ancient
country of Cyrus has a Mohammedan sovereign and most of its
inhabitants are bigoted
adherents of Islamism. [Westminster Bible Dictionary]

Kings of the Bible

David
Solomon

The Kings of Israel (all wicked)

Jeroboam I (933-911 BC) twenty-two years

Nadab
(911-910) two years

Baasha
(910-887) twenty-four years

Elah
(887-886) two years

Zimri
(886) seven days

Omri
(886-875) twelve years

Ahab
(875-854) twenty-two years

Ahaziah
(855-854) two years

Jehoram
(Joram) (854-843) twelve years

Jehu
(843-816) twenty-eight years

Jehoahaz (820-804) seventeen years

Jehoash
(Joash) (806-790) sixteen years

Jeroboam II (790-749) forty-one years

Zechariah' (748) six months

Shallum
(748) one month

Menahem
(748-738) ten years

Pekahiah (738-736) two years

Pekah
(748-730) twenty years

Hoshea
(730-721) nine years

The Kings of Judah (8 were good)

Rehoboam (933-916 BC) seventeen years

Abijam
(915-913) three years

Asa
(Good)
(912-872) forty-one years

Jehoshaphat
(Good)
(874-850) twenty-five years

Jehoram
(850-843) eight years

Ahaziah
(843) one year

Athaliah (843-837) six years

Joash
(Good)
(843-803) forty years

Amaziah
(Good)
(803-775) 29 years

Azariah
(Uzziah)
(Good)
(787-735) fifty-two years

Jotham
(Good)
(749-734) sixteen years

Ahaz
(741-726) sixteen years

Hezekiah
(Good)
(726-697) 29 years

Manasseh (697-642) fifty-five years

Amon
(641-640) two years

Josiah
(Good)
(639-608) thirty-one years

Jehoahaz (608) three months

Jehoiachim (608-597) eleven years

Jehoiachin (597) three months

Zedekiah (597-586) eleven years

Some Scriptures mentioning the name
"Cyrus"

Ezra 5:17
- Now therefore, if [it seem] good to the king, let there be search
made in the king's treasure house, which [is] there at Babylon,
whether it be [so], that a decree was made of Cyrus
the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king
send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Ezra 4:3
- But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the
fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to
build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build
unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of
Persia hath commanded us.

Ezra 5:14
- And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which
Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that [was] in Jerusalem, and
brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus
the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered
unto [one], whose name [was] Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

Ezra 6:14
- And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And
they builded, and finished [it], according to the commandment of the
God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus,
and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

2
Chronicles 36:23 - Thus saith Cyrus king of
Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven
given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem,
which [is] in Judah. Who [is there] among you of all his people? The
LORD his God [be] with him, and let him go up.

Ezra 1:7
- Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the
house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of
Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;

Ezra 4:5
- And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose,
all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the
reign of Darius king of Persia.

Daniel 10:1
- In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing
was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and
the thing [was] true, but the time appointed [was] long: and he
understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

Isaiah 45:1
- Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will
loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates;
and the gates shall not be shut;

Ezra 1:2
- Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of
heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath
charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.

Ezra 3:7
- They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and
meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre,
to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to
the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

Daniel 6:28
- So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign
of Cyrus the Persian.

Isaiah
44:28 - That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation
shall be laid.

Ezra 1:8
- Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by
the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto
Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.

Daniel 1:21
- And Daniel continued [even] unto the first year of king
Cyrus.

Ezra 6:3
- In the first year of Cyrus the king [the same] Cyrus the king made a decree [concerning] the house of
God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they
offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly
laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, [and] the breadth
thereof threescore cubits;

Ezra 1:1
- Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that
the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and
[put it] also in writing, saying,

2
Chronicles 36:22 - Now in the first year of Cyrus
king of Persia, that the word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of
Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,

Ezra 5:13
- But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon
[the same] king Cyrus made a decree to build this
house of God.

Some Scriptures mentioning the word
"Persia"

Ezra 4:7
- And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel,
and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of
Persia; and the writing of the letter [was] written in the
Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.

Ezra 4:3
- But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the
fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to
build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build
unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia
hath commanded us.

Ezra 9:9
- For we [were] bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our
bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings
of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house
of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a
wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Ezra 6:14
- And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And
they builded, and finished [it], according to the commandment of the
God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and
Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

2
Chronicles 36:23 - Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia,
All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me;
and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which
[is] in Judah. Who [is there] among you of all his people? The LORD
his God [be] with him, and let him go up.

Daniel 10:1
- In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing
was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and
the thing [was] true, but the time appointed [was] long: and he
understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

Ezra 1:2
- Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of
heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath
charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.

Esther 1:3
- In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his
princes and his servants; the power of Persia and
Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, [being] before him:

Ezra 3:7
- They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and
meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre,
to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to
the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

Ezra 4:24
- Then ceased the work of the house of God which [is] at Jerusalem.
So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Daniel
10:20 - Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto
thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia:
and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Esther 10:2
- And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the
declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king
advanced him, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles
of the kings of Media and Persia?

Daniel 11:2
- And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up
yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far
richer than [they] all: and by his strength through his riches he
shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

Esther 1:14
- And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish,
Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia
and Media, which saw the king's face, [and] which sat the first in
the kingdom;)

Esther 1:18
- [Likewise] shall the ladies of Persia and Media say
this day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed
of the queen. Thus [shall there arise] too much contempt and wrath.

Ezra 1:8
- Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by
the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto
Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.

2
Chronicles 36:20 - And them that had escaped from the sword
carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his
sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:

Ezra 7:1
- Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of
Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son
of Hilkiah,

Ezekiel
27:10 - They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut
were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and
helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

Daniel 8:20
- The ram which thou sawest having [two] horns [are] the kings of
Media and Persia.

Ezekiel
38:5 - Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them;
all of them with shield and helmet:

Ezra 1:1
- Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that
the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,
that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it]
also in writing, saying,

2
Chronicles 36:22 - Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth
of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,

Ezra 4:5
- And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose,
all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the
reign of Darius king of Persia.

Daniel
10:13 - But the prince of the kingdom of Persia
withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Persia in Easton's Bible Dictionaryan ancient
empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea
to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a
Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the
Persian Gulf. They were Aryans, their language belonging to the
eastern division of the Indo-European group. One of their chiefs,
Teispes, conquered Elam in the time of the decay of the Assyrian
Empire, and established himself in the district of Anzan. His
descendants branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anzan,
while the other remained in Persia. Cyrus II., king of Anzan,
finally united the divided power, conquered Media, Lydia, and
Babylonia, and carried his arms into the far East. His son,
Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire, which, however, fell to pieces
after his death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized by
Darius, the son of Hystaspes, whose dominions extended from India to
the Danube.
http://www.bible-history.com/eastons/P/Persia/

Persia in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Ezekiel 27:10; Ezekiel 38:5. "Persia proper" was originally a small
territory (Herodot. 9:22). On the N. and N.E. lay Media, on the S.
the Persian gulf, Elam on the W., on the E. Carmania. Now Furs,
Farsistan. Rugged, with pleasant valleys and plains in the mid
region and mountains in the N. The S. toward the sea is a hot sandy
plain, in places covered with salt. Persepolis (in the beautiful
valley of the Bendamir), under Darius Hystaspes, took the place of
Pasargadae the ancient capital; of its palace "Chehl Minar," "forty
columns," still exist. Alexander in a drunken fit, to please a
courtesan, burned the palace. Pasargadae, 40 miles to the N., was
noted for Cyrus' tomb (Arrian) with the inscription, "I am Cyrus the
Achaemenian." (See CYRUS.) The Persians came originally from the E.,
from the vicinity of the Sutlej (before the first contact of the
Assyrians with Aryan tribes E. of Mount Zagros, 880 B.C.), down the
Oxus, then S. of the Caspian Sea to India. There were ten castes or
tribes: three noble, three agricultural, four nomadic; of the last
were the "Dehavites" or Dali (Ezra 4:9). The Pasargadae were the
noble tribes, in which the chief house was that of the Achaemenidae.
Darius on the rock of Behistun inscribed: "from antiquity our race
have been kings. There are eight of our race who have been kings
before me, I am the ninth." frontELAM on its relation to Persia.)
The Persian empire stretched at one time from India to Egypt and
Thrace, including all western Asia between the Black Sea, the
Caucasus, the Caspian, the Jaxartes upon the N., the Arabian desert,
Persian gulf, and Indian ocean on the S. Darius in the inscription
on his tomb at Nakhsh- irustam enumerates thirty countries besides
Persia subject to him, Media, Susiana, Parthia, Aria, Bactria,
Sogdiana, Chorasmia, Zarangia, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gaudaria,
India, Scythia, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia,
Cappadocia, Saparda, Ionia, the Aegean isles, the country of the
Scodrae (European), Ionia, the Tacabri, Budians, Cushites, Mardians,
and Colchians. The organization of the Persian kingdom and court as
they appear in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, accords with independent
secular historians. The king, a despot, had a council, "seven
princes of Persia and Media which see his face and sit the first in
the kingdom" (Esther 1:14; Ezra 7:14). So Herodotus (iii. 70-79) and
Behistun inscription mention seven chiefs who organized the revolt
against Smerdis (the Behistun rock W. of Media has one inscription
in three languages, Persian, Babylonian, and Stythic, read by
Grotefend). "The law of the Persians and Medes which alters not"
(Esther 1:19) also controlled him in some measure. In Scripture we
read of 127 provinces (Esther 1:1) with satraps (Esther 3:12; Esther
8:9; Xerxes in boasting enlarged the list; 60 are the nations in his
armament according to Herodotus) maintained from the palace (Ezra
4:14), having charge of the revenue, paid partly in money...
http://www.bible-history.com/faussets/P/Persia/

Persia in Smiths Bible Dictionary
(pure, splended), Per'sians. Persia proper was a tract of no very
large dimensions on the Persian Gulf, which is still known as Fars
or Farsistan, a corruption of the ancient appellation. This tract
was bounded on the west by Susiana or Elam, on the north by Media on
the south by the Persian Gulf and on the east by Carmania. But the
name is more commonly applied, both in Scripture and by profane
authors to the entire tract which came by degrees to be included
within the limits of the Persian empire. This empire extended at one
time from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and
included. besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of
western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and
the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert the Persian Gulf and
the Indian Ocean on the south. The only passage in Scripture where
Persia designates the tract which has been called above "Persia
proper" is Eze 38:5 Elsewhere the empire is intended. The Persians
were of the same race as the Medes, both being branches of the great
Aryan stock. 1. Character of the nation. --The Persians were a
people of lively and impressible minds, brave and impetuous in war,
witty, passionate, for Orientals truthful, not without some spirit
of generosity: and of more intellectual capacity than the generality
of Asiatics. In the times anterior to Cyrus they were noted for the
simplicity of their habits, which offered a strong contrast to the
luxuriousness of the Medes; but from the late of the Median
overthrow this simplicity began to decline. Polygamy was commonly
practiced among them. They were fond of the pleasures of the table.
In war they fought bravely, but without discipline. 2. Religion.
--The religion which the Persians brought with there into Persia
proper seems to have been of a very simple character, differing from
natural religion in little except that it was deeply tainted with
Dualism. Like the other Aryans, the Persians worshipped one supreme
God. They had few temples, and no altars or images. 3. Language.
--The Persian language was closely akin to the Sanskrit, or ancient
language of India. Modern Persian is its degenerate representative,
being largely impregnated with Arabic. 4. History. --The history of
Persia begins with the revolt from the Medes and the accession of
Cyrus the Great, B.C. 558. Cyrus defeated Croesus, and added the
Lydian empire to his dominions. This conquest was followed closely
by the submission of the Greek settlements on the Asiatic coast, and
by the reduction of Caria and Lycia The empire was soon afterward
extended greatly toward the northeast and east. In B.C. 539 or 538,
Babylon was attacked, and after a stout defence fell into the hands
of Cyrus. This victory first brought the Persians into co...
http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/P/Persia/

Persia in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
pur'-sha, (parats; Persia; in Assyrian Parsu, Parsua; in Achemenian
Persian Parsa, modern Fars): In the Bible (2 Ch 36:20,22,23; Ezr
1:1,8; Est 1:3,14,18; 10:2; Ezek 27:10; 38:5; Dan 8:20; 10:1; 11:2)
this name denotes properly the modern province of Fars, not the
whole Persian empire. The latter was by its people called Airyaria,
the present Iran (from the Sanskrit word arya, "noble"); and even
now the Persians never call their country anything but Iran, never
"Persia." The province of Persis lay to the East of Elam (Susiana),
and stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Great Salt Desert, having
Carmania on the Southeast. Its chief cities were Persepolis and
Pasargadae. Along the Persian Gulf the land is low, hot and
unhealthy, but it soon begins to rise as one travels inland. Most of
the province consists of high and steep mountains and plateaus, with
fertile valleys. The table-lands in which lie the modern city of
Shiraz and the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae are well watered
and productive. Nearer the desert, however, cultivation grows scanty
for want of water. Persia was doubtless in early times included in
Elam, and its population was then either Semitic or allied to the
Accadians, who founded more than one state in the Babylonian plain.
The Aryan Persians seem to have occupied the country in the 8th or
9th century BC.
http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/P/PERSIA/

PERSEPOLIS,
an ancient city of Persia, situated some 40 m. N.E. of Shiraz, not
far from where the small river Pulwar flows into the Kur (Kyrus).
The site is marked by a large terrace with its east side leaning on
Kuhi Rahmet (" the Mount of Grace "). The other three sides are
formed by a retaining wall, varying in height with the slope of the
ground from 14 to 41 ft.; on the west side a magnificent double
stair, of very easy steps, leads to the top. On this terrace are the
ruins of a number of colossal buildings, all constructed of
dark-grey marble from the adjacent mountain. The stones were laid
without mortar, and many of them are still in situ. Especially
striking are the huge pillars, of which a number still stand erect.
Several of the buildings were never finished. F. Stolze has shown
that in some cases even the mason's rubbish has not been removed.'
These ruins, for which the name Kizil minare or Chihil menare (" the
forty columns or minarets "), can be traced back to the 13th
century, are now known as Takhti Jamshid (" the throne of Jamshid
"). That they represent the Persepolis captured and partly destroyed
by Alexander the Great has been beyond dispute at least since the
time of Pietro della Valle.2 Behind Takhti Jamshid are three
sepulchres hewn out of the rock in the hillside, the facades, one of
which is incomplete, being richly ornamented with reliefs. About 8
m. N.N.E., on the opposite side of the Pulwar, rises a perpendicular
wall of rock, in which four similar tombs are cut, at a considerable
height from the bottom of the valley. The modern Persians call this
place Nakshi Rustam (" the picture of Rustam ") from the Sassanian
reliefs beneath the opening, which they take to be a representation
of the mythical hero Rustam. That the ' Cf. J. Chardin, E. Kaempfer,
C. Niebuhr and W. Ouseley. Niebuhr's drawings, though good, are, for
the purposes of the architectural student, inferior to the great
work of C. Texier, and still more to that of E. Flandin and P. Coste.
Good sketches, chiefly after Flandin, are given by C. Kossowicz,
Inscriptiones palaeopersicae (St Petersburg, 1872). In addition to
these we have the photographic plates in F. Stolze's Persepolis (2
vols., Berlin, 1882).

Lettera XV. (ed. 'Brighton, 1843), ii. 246 seq.

occupants of these seven tombs were kings might be inferred from the
sculptures, and one of those at Nakshi Rustam is expressly declared
in its inscription to be the tomb of Darius Hystaspis, concerning
whom Ctesias relates that his grave was in the face of a rock, and
could only be reached by means of an apparatus of ropes. Ctesias
mentions further, with regard to a number of Persians kings, either
that their remains were brought " to the Persians," or that they
died there.' Now we know that Cyrus was buried at Pasargadae and if
there is any truth in the statement that the body of Cambyses was
brought home " to the Persians " his burying-place must be sought
somewhere beside that of his father. In order to identify the graves
of Persepolis we must bear in mind that Ctesias assumes that it was
the custom for a king to prepare his own tomb during his lifetime.
Hence the kings buried at Nakshi Rustam are probably, besides
Darius, Xerxes I., Artaxerxes I. and Darius II. Xerxes II., who
reigned for a very short time, could scarcely have obtained so
splendid a monument, and still less could the usurper Sogdianus (Secydianus).
The two completed graves behind Takhti Jamshid would then belong to
Artaxerxes II. and Artaxerxes III. The unfinished one is perhaps
that of Arses, who reigned at the longest two years, or, if not his,
then that of Darius III. (Codomannus), who is one of those whose
bodies are said to have been brought " to the Persians "2 (see
Architecture, fig. 12). Another small group of ruins in the same
style is found at the village of Hajjiabad, on the Pulwar, a good
hour's walk above Takhti Jamshid. These formed a single building,
which was still intact goo years ago, and was used as the mosque of
the then existing city of Istakhr.

Since Cyrus was buried in Pasargadae, which moreover is mentioned in
Ctesias as his own city,' and since, to judge from the inscriptions,
the buildings of Persepolis commenced with Darius I., it was
probably under this king, with whom the sceptre passed to a new
branch of the royal house, that Persepolis became the capital 4 (see
Persia: Ancient History, V. 2) of Persia proper. As a residence,
however, for the rulers of the empire, a remote place in a difficult
alpine region was far from convenient, and the real capitals were
Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana. This accounts for the fact that the
Greeks were not acquainted with the city until it was taken and
plundered by Alexander the Great. Ctesias must certainly have known
of it, and it is possible that he may have named it simply IIEpvac,
after the people, as is undoubtedly done by certain writers of a
somewhat later date.' But whether the city really bore the name of
the people and the country is another question. And it is extremely
hazardous to assume, with Sir H. Rawlinson and J. Oppert, that the
words and Pdrsd, " in this Persia," which occur in an inscription on
the gateway built by Xerxes (D. 1.14), signify " in this city of
Parsa," and consequently prove that the name of the city is
identical with the name of the country. The form Persepolis (with a
play on 71-ports, destruction) appears first in Cleitarchus, one of
the earliest, but unfortunately one of the most imaginative
annalists of the exploits of Alexander.

It has been universally admitted that " the palaces " or "the palace
" (rd ,3aviXeca) burned down by Alexander are those now in ruins at
Takhti Jamshid. From Stolze's investigations it appears that at
least one of these, the castle built by Xerxes, bears evident traces
of having been destroyed by fire. The locality described by Diodorus
after Cleitarchus corresponds in important particulars with Takhti
Jamshid, for example, in being supported by the ' This statement is
not made in Ctesias (or rather in the extracts of Photius) about
Darius II., which is probably accidental; in the case of Sogdianus,
who as a usurper was not deemed worthy of honourable burial, there
is a good reason for the omission.

Arrian, iii. 22, I.

' Cf. also in particular Plutarch, Artax. iii., where Pasargadae is
distinctly looked on as the sacred cradle of the dynasty.

4 The story of Aelian (H. A. i. 59), who makes Cyrus build his royal
palace in Persepolis, deserves no attention.

5 So Arrian (iii. 18, 1, lo), or rather his best authority, King
Ptolemy. So, again, the Babylonian Berossus, shortly after
Alexander. See Clemens Alex., Admon. ad gentes, c. 5, where, with
Georg Hoffmann (Pers. Martyrer, 137), Kai is to be inserted before
ll paacs, and this to be understood as the name of the metropolis.

mountain on the east.' There is, however, one formidable difficulty.
Diodorus says that the rock at the back of the palace containing the
royal sepulchres is so steep that the bodies could be raised to
their last resting-place only by mechanical appliances. This is not
true of the graves behind Takhti Jamshid, to which, as F. Stolze
expressly observes, one can easily ride up; on the other hand, it is
strictly true of the graves at Nakshi Rustam. Stolze accordingly
started the theory that the royal castle of Persepolis stood close
by Nakshi Rustam, and has sunk in course of time to shapeless heaps
of earth, under which the remains may be concealed. The vast ruins,
however, of Takhti Jamshid, and the terrace constructed with so much
labour, can hardly be anything else than the ruins of palaces; as
for temples, the Persians had no such thing, at least in the time of
Darius and Xerxes. Moreover, Persian tradition at a very remote
period knew of only three architectural wonders in that region,
which it attributed to the fabulous queen Humai (Khumai) - the grave
of Cyrus at. Murgab, the building at Hajjiabad, and those on the
great terrace.' It is safest therefore to identify these last with
the royal palaces destroyed by Alexander. Cleitarchus, who can
scarcely have visited the place himself, with his usual recklessness
of statement, confounded the tombs behind the palaces with those of
Nakshi Rustam; indeed he appears to imagine that all the royal
sepulchres were at the same place. In 316 B.C. Persepolis was still
the capital of Persis as a province of the great Macedonian Empire
(see Diod. xix, 21 seq., 46; probably after Hieronymus of Cardia,
who was living about 316). The city must have gradually declined in
the course of time; but the ruins of the Achaemenidae remained as a
witness to its ancient glory. It is probable that the principal town
of the country, or at least of the district, was always in this
neighbourhood. About A.D. 200 we find there the city Istakhr
(properly Stakhr) as the seat of the local governors. There the
foundations of the second great Persian Empire were laid, and
Istakhr acquired special importance as the centre of priestly wisdom
and orthodoxy. The Sassanian kings have covered the face of the
rocks in this neighbourhood, and in part even the Achaemenian ruins,
with their sculptures and inscriptions, and must themselves have
built largely here, although never on the same scale of magnificence
as their ancient predecessors. The Romans knew as little about
Istakhr as the Greeks had done about Persepolis - and this in spite
of the fact that for four hundred years the Sassanians maintained
relations, friendly or hostile, with the empire.

At the time of the Arabian conquest Istakhr offered a desperate
resistance, but the city was still a place of considerable
importance in the 1st century of Islam (see Caeiphate), although its
greatness was speedily eclipsed by the new metropolis Shiraz. In the
10th century Istakhr had become an utterly insignificant place, as
may be seen from the descriptions of Istakhr, a native (c. 950), and
of Mukaddasi (c. 985). During the following centuries Istakhr
gradually declines, until, as a city, it ceased to exist. This
fruitful region, however, was covered with villages till the
frightful devastations of the 18th century; and even now it is,
comparatively speaking, well cultivated. The " castle of Istakhr "
played a conspicuous part several times during the Mahommedan period
as a strong fortress. It was the middlemost and the highest of the
three steep crags which rise from the valley of the Kur, at some
distance to the west or north-west of Nakshi Rustam. We learn from
Oriental writers that one of the Buyid (Buwaihid) sultans in the
10th century of the Flight constructed the great cisterns, which may
yet be seen, and have been visited, amongst others, by James Morier
and E. Flandin. W. Ouseley points out that this castle was still
used in the 16th century, at least as a state prison. But when
Pietro della Valle was there in 1621 it was already in ruins.
[Encyclopedia Britannica 1911]

The
Black Obelisk. In the 1840's a British man named Austen Henry
Layard had a desire to travel to the Middle East and dig around some of
the strange looking mounds near the City of Mosul. He had heard many
tales about things being found in these mounds. He was looking for any
trace of evidence that would lead him to the lost city of Nineveh, the
capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire. Little did he know that one of
his discoveries would turn Europe upside down with excitement. He
discovered a black limestone monument which is known today as The Black
Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. This discovery brought a new authenticity
and historicity to some of the stories in the Bible. It also gained him
the support of the British Museum, and all the finances he needed to
continue his excavations, and become known as "The Father of
Assyriology."

The
Pilate Inscription. It
wasn't long ago when many scholars were questioning the actual existence
of a Roman Governor with the name of Pontius Pilate, the procurator who
ordered Jesus' crucifixion. In June 1961 Italian archaeologists led by
Dr. Frova were excavating an ancient Roman amphitheatre near
Caesarea-on-the-Sea (Maritima) and uncovered this interesting limestone
block. On the worn face is a monumental inscription which is part of a
larger dedication to Tiberius Caesar which clearly says that it was from
"Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea."

The
Megiddo Seal Bearing King Jeroboam's Name.
It is very interesting that the Jasper Seal, found at Tel Megiddo
bearing the name of King Jeroboam who ruled in the Northern Kingdom of
Israel, would contain the symbol for their rival, the Southern Kingdom
of Judah. But in examining all of the circumstances involved and seeing
what the Bible says it is no wonder that the prosperous and victorious
Northern Kingdom of Israel would boast with a symbol of their enemy.

The
Tomb of Cyrus the Great. An inscription on the tomb of the great
Persian monarch read: "O man, whoever you are and wherever you come
from, for I know that you will come--I am Cyrus, son of Cambyses, who
founded the Empire of the Persians and was king of the East. Do not
grudge me this spot of earth which covers my body." - Cyrus".
Is it true that Isaiah the Hebrew prophet mention Cyrus by name almost
200 years before he was born?

Sennacherib's
Hexagonal Prism. This amazing discovery excavated in Nineveh in
the 1830 records the Assyrian king Sennacherib's 8th campaign, which
includes his siege of Jerusalem during the reign of "Hezekiah the
Judahite" in 701 BC. There are 500 lines of writing in the Akkadian
language on this magnificent clay prism. Is the story true that it was
purchased by an American from an antiquities dealer in Baghdad?

Coming SoonThe Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
During the last days of the southern kingdom of Judah the Jews were
taken captive to a distant land called Babylon at the latter part of the
6th century BC. They passed through a beautiful entrance gate made of
mud brick masonry and glazed skin which stood 47 feet tall, commonly
referred to as the Ishtar Gate since its discovery at the turn of the
20th century near modern Baghdad, Iraq. The tall gate was dedicated to
the gods by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylonia who reigned from 605—562
BC). Is it true that Hitler had it transported to Berlin? Where is the
Ishtar Gate now?

The Bible mentions many
things about people, places and events that happened in history. The
Bible also gives an accurate chronology of those people, places and
events. What is amazing is that modern archaeology has confirmed that
the Bible has never made one error, or given any clear contradictions in
all of its text in matters of historical fact. The paintings and
illustrations below of archaeological discoveries and ruins illustrate
this emphatically.